Automobile parking garage



May 26, 1925.

. M. D. MURRAY AUTOMOBILE'PARKING GARAGE Filed Sept. '7, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 I z w n .1 .I M I May 26, 1925.

M. D. MURRAY AUTOMOBILE PARKING GARAGE Filed Sept. '7, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 25, 1925.

. M. D. MURRAY AUTOMOBILE PARKING GARAGE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 w v w w/ Hm w W r/ w J Q70 W/ 6 M A. p 4 7 a ow .3

May 26, 1925 M. D. MURRAY AUTOMOBILE PARKING GARAGE Filed Sept. '7, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 2 arr-[5y 1,539,761 MED. MURRAY AUTOMOBILE PARK ING GARAGE Filed Sept. 7, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 \IIIIIII II:

llllllllJllllhllllllllflllllll'lllllllfllnlllllllllllllllllmlmlllllll illllll llllllllll rages Patented May 25, 1925.

UNITED STATES M ICHAEL D. MURRAY, OF AMBRIDGE, I'EENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMOBILE PARKING GARAGE.

Application filed September 7. 1923. Serial No. (361,467.

lie it known that. Mieiuia. D. Multan, a itizen ot' the l nited States, residing at Ann bridge. in the-eount v o't lleaver and bit-ate of l(*!lll5 '\l\'llliltl. has invented new and useful lmproieinents in Automoliile Parking (inrages. oi which the following is a speciticze tion.

in the business sections ol' large cities considerable parking spaeo is necessary to take care oi automobiles whieh 1113 2153 a rule, driven down by husiuess men in the.

morning and allowed to remain all day on the street. unless the large oliiee buildings and husiness houses have some facilities to take care ol' the automohiles.

it. is the purpose oi the present invention to relieve this ditlieultv lrv providing parlo in;- garages. each taking care o'l at least live hundred and twenty-eight autom biles, therehv greatly reduriug-the neeessar) area. The capacity of the garages depends eutirel upon the reipiiremeuts. in the husiuess section of a large eitv, there may ho more than one garage. aeh making provision tor a eonsiderahle numher of automohill-s. llaeh garage may provide t'or an overllow to insure taking care ot' tho automobiles to he purl-zed during the day.

further purpose is to plzovide parking 'l'aeilities for an indetinite period in the commereial water of a large city at a modorato cost. it heiug the aim to construct. the gaeioselv in the neighborhood of the luzsiness seetien where the automobiles are within easy reach of the owners. Parking l'aeililirs of this eharaeter will also serve to relieve the possihility of lines levied upon the owners ol' automobiles tor parking too long in ee'taiu plaees or {or parking; in forhidden places.

'till another purpose is the provision ol pat-aim: l'aeilities eonsislin; ot a housing order which a great number of automol iles may he protected under the one root. therehv relieving the possihilitv ol' the loss of the automobile by theft as well as preventing damage to the automohile by the weather .v t'urther purpose is the rovision of parking t'aeilities consisting ot' a housing eorstrueted at a eonsiderahle depth helow and :tlmve the uri'aee ol' the ground. intl nliug a nuinher ot' tloors', with improved means for transporting), automohileeto any one of the tloors.

A still further purpose istho provision of parking facilities wherein a housing is included with a number of superimposed tloors with carriers operable upon aspiral eoluiun for transporting automobiles above and below the surface, of tho ground.

l :.n;thermore, the invention has for its purpose controlling means on each carrier for operatively (.OiittOllillif electrical means remote from the earrier to insure. ascending and deseemling ot' the carrier.

Tile invention also aims to provide means operated by the rear wheels of tho automohiles when upon tho carriers for assisting in raising and lowering the carriers upon the spiral gear on the column.

it is to he understood that the particulars herein given are in no way limitative and that. while still keeping within the scope of the invention, any desired modifications of detail and desired proportions may he made in the apparatus according to the circumstances.

The invention comprises further features and combinations ol' parts to he hereinafter set forth, shown in the drawings and claimed.

in the drawings:

l iegure l is a vertical sectional view through the improved parking garage eonstrueted in aeeordanee with the invention.

Figure :2 is a horizontal sectional view on line 'l2 of Figure 1. showing the operative connections .hetween DUO Off the carriers and tho column.

Figure 8 a transverse sectional view on line 3 3 of Figure 1. showing the motors fordriving the column, whereby the carriers may ascend or descend.

Figure -lis an enlarged sectional view through one of the carriers and the column, showing its operative eonneetions therewith.

Figure .3 is an enlarged sectional view on line 55 of Figure 4. showing: more clearly the emistruetion of tlie s'piral and the gears .whieh operativelv eonn'eel therewith for causing the carrier to raise and lower.

Figure (3 is av d'ia 'ranunatic view of the electrical wiring for causing either of the carriers to ascend or descend, showing the motors in diagram for transmitting power to the column and also'illustrating n din gram the controller to be carried by the carriers for controlling the motors.

Figure 7 is a detail cross'sectional View showing the spiral rack and the cylindrical tube 21 with its interior angle iron construction.

Figure 8 is a detail sectional view of the second tube 22 showing the ball bearings 31 at the top.

Figure 9 is a detail sectional view of the tube 22 showing the ball bearings 31 at the bottom.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a building constituting a garage for the parking of a number of automobiles. To construct the building and to provide for stories or floors above and below the surface of the street or ground, it is the aim to excavate deep enough to provide at least eight or ten floors below the surface or level of the street and then construct the building to project above the surface or level of the street at least eight or ten stories.

The building comprises columns or beams angular formation in cross section designated by the numeral 2 including angular floor beams or girders 3 for the support of concrete flooring ft. The present drawings are merely illustrative of a suitable garage or building, therefore bracing girders, angle irons or beams are omitted. However, in actual practice, the building or garage may be suitably reinforced and in plan, as shown. in the transverse sectional views, the build ing or garage may be angular in cross sectional area although it may be otherwise shaped.

Preferably, the building comprises a com tral space 5'for the passage of carriers or elevators 6 and 7 which ascend and descend for distances above and below the surface or level of the street. The various floor spaces for the parking of automobiles 8 open into the centralspac/e so that, when the carrier or elevator registers with a floor, the

several automobiles or other vehicles on the carrler 1y easil traverse from the carrier or elevat onto the floorand be arranged in their proper positions while parlred dur'-- ing the day.

Each carrier or elevator comprises a platform 9 and a top or cover 10 which are relatively reinforced by the uprights or standards 11. Each carrier or elevator also includes a central cylinder 12. The platform 9 and the cover 10 have guide notches or recesses 14 which engage with the guide rails 15 which are secured in any suitable 1113!) nor to certain of the vertical standards or beams 2 of the building or garage.

The carrier or elevator (i operates downwardly from. the street level or surface Z: for a distance at icast eight or ten depending entirely" upon th ac building or garage, while the i provided with gears 42,

vator 7 is adapted to move from. the street level a to a height at least eight or ten floors above. However, each carrier or elevator is designed to register with a street level for the purpose of taking on automobiles or delivering them on the street.

A central vertical column 13 is provided and it comprises the main Lbeam l6 and the additional I-bcams 17 which are bolted or otherwise secured at 1 to the main I-beam. Thiese beams are reinforced by angular plates 19 which are secured at 20 to the I-beams 16 and 17. This structure of I-bcams, together with the rcii'iforcingplates, is mounted within a cylindricaltnbe 21 and in surrounding spaced relation thereto are revoluble tubular sections 27 and 28.

The inner tube 21 at certain locations has annular shoulders 23 for the support of ball bearings or other antifriction devices 24 to permit the revolublc tubular sections 27' and 28 to freely revolve. The inner cylindrical tube 21 extends from the foundation of that portion of the building below the level of the street to the roof of the garage or build ing, while the remote ends of the upper and lower sections 27 and 28 are mounted in bearings and 26 which are in the form. of

circular plates provided with raccways 29 and 30 for the reception of the ball bcarlugs 31.

The remote ends cf the sections 27 and 28 have flanges, the remote faces of which have racewa s and 33 which cooperate with the ball bearings 31 to insure free revolnble movement of the cylindrical tubular sections 27 and 28. The adjacent ends of the sections 27 andv 28 have flanges 34, the adjacentfaces of which are provided with 'raceways 35 which receive ball bearin-gs 36 to, further insure free revoluble movement of the sections 27 and 28. Car ried by and mounted upon the outer periphcry of the tubular sections 27 and 28 lire spiral or helix tracks 37. These tracks are flanged, as at 38, to retain in engagement with the track. In fact, the spiral or helix track has rack teeth 40 with which. the teeth of the cogs 39 Il'lLSll to insure travel on the track.

The 39 are carried by shafts 11 which are mounted in bearings of and ex- (end radially with relation to the cylinder 12. The outer ends of the shafts ll are et'wecn which idler gears ell mesh. The idler gears i? are carried by stub shafts which project from the outer surface'of the cylinder 12. The idler gears all are provided for the purpose of causing the gears 4-2 to 14.6 to operate in uniform directions so as to cause the cogs oil to mesh with the rack teeth. on the track.

The ilatform provided with. radially disposed rollers lo, the pintles of which are cog wh cels- 39' 43, 44, and ill a dynamo. service line. or as indicated at In fact, the trolley rod (36 con- 'n'ccts with the source of supply by means the controller.

. gears above and since these gears are carried by the shafts 41, the cogs 39 mesh with the, teeth of the track. In order to additionally support the central cylinders 12 and carriers on the tracks of the sections 27 and 28, additional shafts 51 with cogs .52 are carried by the remote ends of the cylinders 12 so that the cogs 52 may mesh with the racks of the track. The shafts 51 extend in 'ardly and radially.

Carried by the upper end of the tubular section 27 is a plurality of pulleys 53 while the lower end of the section 28 is provided with a plurality of pulleys 54; similar to the pulleys Mounted in the four corncrs of the top floor of the building or garage are motors 55 wh ch are operatively connected with the four pulleys 53 by means of the belt cables 56. The shafts of the motors carry pulleys 57 which are engaged by the belt cables. The lowermost floor of the building or garage has, a plurality of motors 58 in the four corners thereof provided with ulleys 59 operatively connected. by cable be ts 60 with the four pulleys 54- at the lower end of the section 28.

The motors are designed primarily for raising and lowering the carriers or elevators. Three of the motors of the extreme lower floor are employed for causing the carrier or elevator G to ascend while the other motor-is used for causing the carrier or elevator t) to descend. The same thine is true with regard to the motors in the uppermost floor of ,the garage or building, namely, three of them are used to cause the elevator or carrier '7 to ascend and one to cause it to descend.

l-lowever. the elevators or carriers are as- Sisted in their ascension and dcsccnsion due to the tread rollers 48 with which the rear drive wheels of tour automobiles which maybe contained on each carrier engage. The drive wheels of the automobiles are retained in engagement with the tread rollcrs 18 by means ol' additional rollers (312.

In order to control the motors when the (:ll'l'lclds asccmlingaml descending. a suitable controller (32) is mounted upon the arricr. there being trolley rods 04. (35 and titi with which the trolley wheels (57 en- "age. These trolley wheels are connected v thc' ltiltls or wires ($5. titland it) with The motors rel'cive current from any suitable source. for instance. from a and 71.

of a wvire 71 while certain oi the motors are connected by a wire or lead '14 with the other side oi the supply. (ertain other of the motors are connected by the wires or leads T5 and T6 with the wire or lead H. A wire or lead 77 connects with the trollc v rod ti-l and. in turn. to one of the inotors 53. wire or lead TH is connected to the trolley rod (3.3 and. in turn. is in circuit with three of the moiors b means of the leads Si, 82 aml '83. This wiring is used in duplicate. For instance. the carrier or elevator t) is wired with the motors at the bottom of the building while the carrier or elevator T is wired with the motors at the top of the building. In tact, the circuits are independent and when the carrier or elevator T is lowered to the street level. the carrier (3 must, be below the street level and when the carrier-or elevator G is in register with the street level, the carrier or elevator 7 may be in register with one of the floors above.

The controller on the carrier or elevator is of a conventional construction and in' cludes a switch 86 for reversing the current for ascending: or descending the carrier or elevator. When moving the switch to en- ;iag'e with the contact 87, three of the motors at the top will be energized to cause the carrier or elevator to ascend. By reversing: the position of the switch'SG to engage with the contact 88, a singlemotor is energized for causing the carrier or elevator to descend.

In the operation, the carrier is designed to be brought into register with the street level and a number of automobiles, say for nstance four. are'placed upon the carrier. 11 it is the carrier (5, the controller is op- (raicd to cause the carrier todescend. therofore the controller is operated to close the circuit which will :ause the carrier to lower due to the fact that the cylindrical tubular section 28 revolves. The same thing is true with the carrier which operates from the street level a. to the top oi the building or garage. The carrier 7 is designed to be lowered in register with the street level and. alter being loaded. the controller may be operated to cause the cai ricr to ascend. llci'erring to Figure i. it will be noted that the garage is constructed so that certain automobiles may pass out on one street level while certain otherot the automobile ma) pass out on other street levels. in fact. the levels on which the automobiles travel when passing out of the garage are at right angles. so that the automobiles that are conveyed from the upper lloors ol' the garage ma pass out on the street level a. while the automobiles from the lower lloors. that below the street level. may be elevated and allowed to pass out upon the level 7),. To accomplish this. the ca'iricr '7 may be low crcrl to a position indicated in dot and dash lines in Figure l while the carrier (3 may mcaua operated be elevated to a position indicated in full lines in Figure 1. The floors of these carriers in this Way will assume positions flush with the levels a and b. v

The invention having been set forth, What .is'elaimed is:

' 1. In a: parking garage, a housing including a. plurality of tloors above and l'XlOW a general street surface and provided with a central passage opening into the, several floors, imlapendentlv operable tubular sec tions axially mounted in said central passage and having spiral traclra, and carriers movable upon the said sections and having operative connections with the tracks,

whereby the tracks may asccnd aud descend and adapted to register with any one of the floors.

2. A parking garage including a. plurality oi. tloors above and below a general street. surface and provided with a central guide space, carriers operatively mounted and guided in saiu spat-(u means for operat- .ing the carriers, whereby they may ascend and descend to register ne with the tloors above the gene 'al strcci. urtacc. the other with the tioors below the street suri'ai'c.

3, A parking garage including a plu ralitv of floor spaces tll ()\'0 and hclow a general street surtace for parking of automobiles and provided with a central guide space opening into the several tioor spaces, a pair of axially aligned tulntlar sections opcrativcly mounted in said guide spawn carriers operatively mounted in the guide space, and lllttillr; on the carriers operated by motor driven vehicles supported upon the carriers and with operative connections with said sections to ascend and descend the carriers.

t. A parking garage including a. plurality of floor spaces above and below a general street surface tor parking of motor driven vehicles and provided with a central guide spactu a pair ot tubular sections vertically axially aligned mpuntcd in said gi'ildc space carricrsroperative in the guide space and having means operativclv coin neeting with the tubular sections ascending and dcsceinling tile carriers and lrvthc nnvtor driven ve hiclcs to be supported upon the carriers tor driving said first means. 5. A parking garage including a pinralitv ot lloor spaces above and below a general street sin-tare tor the parking of motor driven vehicles central guide. space. a pair of tubular scctions \cttiicztllj-J axially aligned in said space. carriers operable in the guide space and provided with operative connections with said sections for ascending and, tll. ttlitllil the carriers. and electrical means opcrativi l" conneacd with thi-v s ions to rotate the same to operate the l'cl':-.

' general ,gcars and adapted to be for axiail v' aligned and provided with a- 6. A parking garage including a plurality of floor spaces above and below a street surface for the parking of motor driven vehicles and provided avith a central guide space, a pair of tubular sections vertically axially aligned in said space, carriers operative in said space and having means operarivcly connected with the sections for ascending and descending the *arriers', means operated by the motor driven vehicles: to hesupported on the carriers for driving the first means and clectrical means op ratively connecting with the sections and lower the carriers.

7. A parking garage including a plurality of floor spaces above and below a general rtrect surface for the parking of motor driven vehicles and provided with a central guide space'opening into the several tloor spaces a pair of tuhular sections verticallv axially aligned and mounted in said space and provided with spiral tracks. carriers operable in the guide space and having operative gear connections respcc tivclv avith the spiral tracks. and electrical means operativelv connecting with the tuhular sections for rotating the same for tlfit'tlitlllig and descending the carriers,

may register, one with any t loor above the with any floor below the general surface.

ii parking garage including a plurality of floor spaces above and helow a general street. surface for parking of motor driven vehicles and provided with a-central guide space opening into the several floor spa ws. a pair of tubular sections vertically axially aligned and o wrativclv mounted in the central guide space and provided with spiral tracks. carriers operable in said space, means on the carriers incliuling'trains of gears operatively connecting with the spiral inn-ks. and mechanisms on said carriers and operativelv connected with the trains of actuated by the drive wheels of the motor driven vehicles tor ascending and descending the carriers.

9. ii. parking garage including a pinrality ot iloor spaces above and below a general strcci surface for parking ofmotor drivcn vehicles and provided with a central guide space opening into the several floor spaces, a pair ot' tubular sections vertically and operatively mounted in the central guide space and providcd vith spiral tracks, carriers oprwable in said space means on the carriers including trains of gears opcrat-ivclv connecting with the'spiral tracks. mechanisms on said carriers and operativcly connected with the trains of gears and adapted to be actuated by the drive wheels of the motor driven vehicles for ascending and descending the carriers.

and electric-a means operatively connecting wifli H10- (ubular sections for whiting them in insure raising and lowering the carriers.

10. A parking garage-*ineiuding a piuj ruiity 0f floor spaces above and below 2, general street surface and provided with a central guide space opening into the several said space and provided "with spiral tracks opei'abivcly connecting with Hie vari'im's for ascending and descending the same, and means for imparting revoiuhle movement to said sections.

In testimuny whereof lie afiixes his Signature.

MICHAEL D. MURRAY. 

